Feel Good Friday - Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

Hello my friends! I've returned from my travels in Jordan and Egypt, where everyone we met was warm and welcoming. Unfortunately, conflict in the region is heating up. That's why today's Feel Good Friday is focused on the anti-war Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).

WILPF is an international NGO founded in 1915, during World War I, by suffragists who saw the connection between their struggle for women's rights and the struggle for peace. The mission of WILPF is "to end and prevent war, ensure that women are represented at all levels in the peace-building process, defend the human rights of women, and promote social, economic and political justice."

There are national sections in 50 countries around the world with an International Secretariat in Geneva and a New York office focused on the work of the United Nations. Programs are divided into four areas:

• Building the movement by "sharing knowledge and articulating agendas for action, securing sustainable funding, expanding our networks, and being responsive to our grassroots."
• Leveraging feminist perspectives on peace by advocating to include women in the peace process and for a feminist UN Security Council.
• Redefining security from military might to an economy that invests in environmental protection, social, and economic rights. Example programs in this area include advocating for peace in Korea and nuclear disarmament around the world.
• Promoting socio-economic justice by connecting grassroots activists to decision-makers in the UN and monitoring developments within the UN and creating publications, articles and newsletters suggesting solutions.

The organization won the Nobel Peace Prize in both 1931 and 1946!

If you'd like to get involved in being an advocate for peace (Nobel prize not guaranteed), you can become a member, sign up for the WILPF newsletter, make a donation and show your support by liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter @WILPF.